Is your dog's unusual barking a secret code for something mysterious?

[Eggasperated]

Having made my usual strawberry jam recipe it seems to be behaving badly this year. Despite skimming it and adding a k"Ooops, word censored!" of butter at the end of cooking now I have put it in the jars it seems to have scum at the top. Also I always try to keep the strawberries whole in my jam so I leave it to cool slightly before putting it in the jars, however this year all the strawberries have migrated to the top of the jars. Finally despite testing it on a saucer and with my jam thermometer (and using added pectin) it looks jolly runny to me, so all in all I'm a bit fed up with it.

On the plus side the cat has been loving round me asking for a taste of it , so she obviously thinks its alright - mind you she's a fan of anything as long as its not cat food so I'm not sure that's any recommendation .

[Lavenders_Blue]

What a nuisance! Jam can be very awkward stuff when it wants to be I've also just made some strawberry jam and, like you, I left it to cool a bit before jarring. My fruit has also risen to the top. This year's strawberries must be a particularly floaty crop! I'll just give each jar a good stir when I open it, it'll all taste the same

[C&T]

Try adding some Gooseberries to Strawberries for jam.

 

Takes some of the sweetness away, seems to set better (in my limited experience) and I think tastes much nicer!

[Eggasperated]

Try adding some Gooseberries to Strawberries for jam.

 

Bit late for this batch .

[Eggasperated]

It's still really runny this morning, I did think about putting it back in the pan and reboiling it, but OH said it will be fine especially as he likes to stir it into rice pudding, and looking at some of last years jam I suspect it will thicken up over time.

Decided too thick would be worse as I have some apricot jam from last year that refuses to be parted from the jar .

[chickencam]

I would leave it, we have made runny strawberry jam before and it has been fine. I always jar mine when it is still piping hot because it helps to make a sterile seal in the jars which helps even quite runny jam to keep well.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I think too runny is better than too firm as well. Just cup your bread!

[chickencam]

Runny jam generally tastes much fresher because it hasn't had the flavour boiled out of it.